Piano Moving Services

Local and Long Distance Moves

Serving Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Jose, and the greater San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area as well as long distance piano moves within California and to neighboring states such as Oregon, Nevada and Arizona.

Piano Storage

If you're in a situation that requires storage of your piano, The Piano Mover can help by providing short or long term piano storage services. Many experts advise against storing a piano for an extended period and recommend keeping it at the home of a friend or relative until you're ready for it again. This is due to a piano's sensitivity to large temperature and humidty swings, which can damage it.

Piano storage provided by Howard's Piano Moving is done in a climate controlled storage facility that protects your valuable instrument. Every piano is blanket wrapped with cotton lined blankets covering all exposed finish areas. This prevents air born contaminates from perematurely aging the lacquer or polyester coating. The legs, pedal lyre and bench are all seperately wrapped. Call for a quote if you require piano storage services.

Licensed and Insured

Howard's Piano Moving is licensed with the California PUC — Carrier ID: MTR0170197. To protect you the consumer, the CPUC licenses and regulates companies that move household goods within California. To be licensed, moving companies must prove their financial and safety fitness. They must also prove to the CPUC that they have adequate insurance and they are subject to criminal background clearance by the California Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Howard's Piano Moving is also fully insured to protect your piano and/or damage to your home, with a $1,000,000 liability, damage and cargo policy. This coverage is provided at no charge and is well in excess of the $15,000 policy that is required by the California PUC to be licensed. While the minimum $15K policy might be sufficient for the simple move of an upright piano, it is inadequate to cover the cost of moving most grand pianos. Other licensed movers might provide additional insurance, but they typically charge for the added coverage that is sufficient to cover your piano and home.

Grand Pianos

The smallest grand piano — a baby grand — starts at 54 inches long and 800 lbs, and the longest — a concert grand — is 9'2" and 1300 lbs. Due to their shape, size and weight, not to mention the fact that they are a fragile instrument, moving a grand piano is no simple matter. Even a move within a home typically requires professional assistance in order to protect the piano and the flooring. The casters are mostly decorative and not very functional (in large part because of the weight each one must support), so you cannot just roll a grand piano around the house.

In order to move a grand piano, it must be partially disassembled including the removal of its legs, and vertically laid on its side on a piano board. It is a routine process for a professional piano mover, but clearly a lot can go wrong if the laws of physics work against you. The piano must be properly protected with padding, and adequately secured. It must be moved with a special dolly that can handle the size and weight of the instrument and maneuver the piano over the path from the house to the truck.

If a grand piano started to fall, its not likely that even a large crew can stop it, so its essential that the moving process occurs in a thoughtful, careful, deliberate manner. This includes conscientious planning beforehand of the entire move (maneuvering challenges, uneven or sloped sections that can impact the balance of the piano) and which tools are required for each step of the process. Every move is different and must be handled accordingly. You can't rush a move. If the move takes longer, you have to take longer.

Difficult Moves

Stairs, multi-storied buildings, elevators, sloped driveways or paths, tight turns — all present challenges when moving a piano. Meticulous planning and forethought is essential. With Howard's Piano Moving, 30 years of experience ensures that your move goes smoothly, and that even the most difficult situation finds a safe solution. Sometimes though, moving a piano to its desired location just isn't possible. It is equally important that a risky or impossible move is not attempted. Rick is always available for consultations should piano relocation be a consideration when picking a new home.

Upright Pianos

Howard's Piano Moving is also the best choice for upright pianos. Larger uprights can weigh as much as a baby grand — 800 lbs. — and thus present similar challenges, which require similar expertise. Smaller uprights are seemingly a simpler move that doesn't require an experts piano mover, but Rick is still the best choice. Most moving companies require a minimum crew size of 2-3 people. Rick the Piano Mover, because of his size, strength and experience can often do simple moves of upright pianos by himself, which can make him the most affordable solution, without sacrificing quality and safety.

As the saying goes, no job is too big or too small.

Piano Moving and Storage Prices

Minimum Charge

Simple relocation in a house

$100

Base Pricing for local moves within 5 miles of pickup location.
Additional mileage charges for long distance piano moves.